INNOVATION. Traditional businesses from the city and province of Iloilo are featured during the Iloilo Bussiness Week 2019. The private movement 'Innovate Iloilo' aims to integrate technology with businesses and eyes to make Iloilo an 'innovation hub' by 2030. (PNA photo by Gail Momblan)
ILOILO CITY -- A private movement that will promote innovation in the city and the province of Iloilo is working on a long-term plan to make it an “innovation hub” by 2030.
"Innovate Iloilo" was initiated by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Global Shapers Iloilo, and Iloilo stakeholders and business groups.
As part of the Iloilo Business Week 2019, “Innovate Iloilo” was officially launched at a mall in this city’s Mandurriao district on Tuesday.
Rayjand Gellamucho, manager of the West Visayas State University - Green Technology Business Incubator and curator of Global Shapers Iloilo, said in an interview Saturday that government agencies and academic institutions will have their initiatives to support the movement.
“What we really want is to influence government agencies, policymakers, and academic institutions to support the fourth industrial revolution and to educate them. We need to venture on the internet of things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning,” he said.
Among the goals of the movement is for innovation to be integrated with traditional businesses and for traditional businesses not to “stick only (to) what is usual.”
The new portal www.innovateiloilo.com will feature innovative initiatives and start-ups in both the city and the province was also opened on Tuesday.
Locals and businessmen can freely register at the website, which will provide them access to technological innovations, Gellamucho said.
Meanwhile, Lea Lara, Iloilo Business Club executive director, said “Innovate Iloilo” will also highlight the role of businesses in the economic development of the city and the province.
“It is a good platform for our small and medium enterprises to come up with good products and services. We have seen already local products like turmeric and oils. What we are hoping (for) is to come up with products and services that are uniquely Ilonggo,” she said.
The movement has also gained the support of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Maria Lourdes Yaptinchay, director of the DTI Bureau of Trade and Industrial Policy Research, said that “innovation” can propel Iloilo’s development in terms of economic governance and delivery of services.
The Iloilo Business Week 2019 was capped with a dinner and show hosted by the Iloilo Economic Development Foundation, Inc. and the Iloilo Multisectoral Business Organization, Inc. at the Grand Xing Imperial Hotel with Senator Franklin Drilon on Friday night.
The business leaders thanked the Ilonggo senator for his immense contribution to Iloilo’s development.
Drilon appreciated the local leaders and the business community for recognizing his efforts.
“In Iloilo, we have proven that we can create change when we put our collective interest before individual interest. In Iloilo, we are nurturing big dreams and are working hard to realize these dreams,” he said in his speech.
Drilon, however, said that “there’s more to be done and the development of Iloilo remains a work in progress.”
“We have made huge strides in our efforts to make Iloilo a world-class city. But now is not the time to rest. There is much to do. There are bigger challenges to tackle to make Iloilo a competitive, world-class city,” he added. (PNA)
